


Open Your Mind With a Touch

by context_please



Series: A Million Little Pieces - Drabbles for Macx's Pushing Boundaries Series [3]
Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, I can't leave OCs alone in peace, Psychic Bond, This is a tribute, herbivores are still cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 15:31:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4310649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/context_please/pseuds/context_please
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman offers her hand. ‘I’m Claire Dearing. I handle the operations of Jurassic World.’</p><p>He can see why. She’s sharp, and there’s wily intelligence in her eyes. She reminds him of a fox he touched, once. He likes her.</p><p>A drabble for Macx's Tainted and Threshold Shift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Open Your Mind With a Touch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Macx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Threshold Shift](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4242024) by [Macx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macx/pseuds/Macx). 



> Public service announcement!
> 
> This fic is based off of Macx's Tainted and Threshold Shift. If you haven't read them, please do! It's worth your time, I promise. 
> 
> I am borrowing Macx's OCs. Good luck understanding this is you haven't read the originals!
> 
> The first two scenes take place prior to Tainted, but the last takes place shortly after the beginning of Threshold Shift. Damn me and my annoying timeline jumps.

Elephants have a unique sense of family.

They’re more than just words and terms and blood connections. They are more than any human can possibly understand – not unless they have a little talent.

The first time he understands this, he’s at a nature reserve in South Africa. Reggie Faulkes has worked with elephants before, but that had always been within the controlled environments of a zoo. He’s never seen this many elephants in one place. The herd wanders past his shitty old Jeep, ambling along. They’re relaxed, unfazed by his presence, flapping their ears constantly under the heat of the morning sun, sticking close to the watering hole. Three juvenile calves are splashing around, sucking water into their trunks and spraying it at each other, playfulness in their eyes.

They are big and strong. But they are also peaceful and careful.

The matriarch is beautiful. She keeps a watchful eye over the herd, scanning the water for crocodiles. Her leathery skin is marred by two long scores stretching from her shoulder to her flank. They look old, but they haven’t lost their significance. Elephants have excellent memory – the herd remembers the time she bled for them. They remember how she emerged the victor, and how she continues to keep them safe. Reggie smiles to himself. What a wonderful old girl.

He grabs his hat and camera. Swinging himself out of the Jeep, he takes a moment to breathe. The trumpets and rumbles of the elephants are soothing. The sun beats down on his skin, soaking warmly into his scalp. A grin rises on his face – he can’t help it. This is where he feels most at home. Where there’s no one but him and the elephants, and the rustle of leaves in the breeze.

Reggie slips his hat on to ward off the impending sunburn and perches on the hood of the Jeep. The metal is hot under his ass but he ignores it, settling down to watch the herd.

The adults alternate between grazing on the golden grass of the plain and watching the shrubbery for predators. Reggie doesn’t need to use his talent to see they’re not concerned. Yesterday he’d passed a group of lions snacking on their latest kill – the elephants had seen it too. It’s the golden rule of nature: when a predator is fed, you’re as safe as you can ever be. When the lion pride finishes lazing around to speed their digestion, they’ll become a concern again. Reggie’s not worried. The matriarch is strong – she knows what she’s doing.

Last season’s calves are starting to put on some serious bulk, but they’re not sure what to do with it. Reggie points his camera at a group of juveniles and records their antics. The largest of the bunch gives her herd-sibling a nudge and looks surprised to find he’s fallen over. Her other siblings swat at her in punishment. Nearby, their aunt rumbles in amusement.

He doesn’t need his talent to know what these gorgeous creatures are feeling. He’s worked with elephants for so long it comes naturally. They’re so close to human – feel emotions like grief and love acutely. He looks into the matriarch’s eyes and wonders how any poacher can shoot a creature that feels just as surely as Reggie does. There are some things he’ll never understand.

He slides off of the Jeep’s hood, takes a few careful steps forward. Opening his senses to the herd, he approaches noisily, giving them warning. He can barely feel a few faint echoes in his mind, shifting around on the edge of his consciousness. It’s like trying to catch a glimpse of the back of his head: he’s going to need two mirrors to achieve it.

Reggie stands amongst the herd and watches them watch him. The matriarch surveys him for a minute, then returns to her grazing. He isn’t a threat. The other adults relax again, eyeing him curiously.

A gorgeous young lady approaches him over the course of a few minutes. She likes to think she’s being subtle as she chooses patches of grass closer and closer to Reggie, but she’s not very good at subterfuge. He grins as she picks another patch of grass that yields barely more than a handful of good eating, and chews thoughtfully.

Giving up on the ruse, she comes to him, steps wary. He grins at her, says, ‘you’re a curious one.’ Holds a hand out.

She stretches her trunk closer, scenting him carefully. Blowing little puffs of air onto his fingers, she takes another step closer. The caution is gone from her posture – only playful curiosity remains.

His hand slides gently along her trunk. Her skin is leathery beneath his fingers, just starting to gain the thickness of adulthood, but that’s not important.

The herd suddenly bursts into his mind, overwhelming.

They are a vast network of interconnected brains, weaving through one another so intricately he can’t tell where one consciousness ends and another begins. They are a giant nerve center, each individual acting as a sensor. The herd is the brain, the processor. They are all connected, all communicating. Curiosity, contentment and caution flow into him through their makeshift connection. They can feel him in the herd bond. They’ve never felt a human in their midst before.

Suddenly it’s too much. They’re pulling at him, asking a million nonverbal questions, impulses and sensor data pouring into his brain. He yanks himself back from their complexity, builds his walls and keeps them there. He can only feel surface emotion now, and the bright point of the matriarch. She is the sun and the herd is the stars. They all revolve around her. She’s bright and clever. She is the commander.

Reggie’s head is pounding when he resituates himself in his body. He’s raw. The allure of the herd connection still pulls at him. Whispers to him like a lover. It’s seductive, oh so tempting, but he resists. He doesn’t want to become the elephant man.

The young lady in front of him senses his unease. Rumbling soothingly at him, she knocks his hat off. Her trunk curls around his shoulders, squeezing him like a hug, and her nose ruffles through his hair, blowing warm air against his scalp. The sensation startles a laugh out of him. The young elephant likes the sound, so he does it again.

He laughs and laughs and laughs.

It’s wonderful.

 

 

 

‘Mr Reginald Faulkes?’ A young woman offers her hand. ‘I’m Claire Dearing. I handle the operations of Jurassic World.’

He can see why. She’s sharp, and there’s wily intelligence in her eyes. She reminds him of a fox he touched, once. He likes her.

‘Please, call me Reggie,’ he says. ‘Reginald was my father.’

She smiles at him. ‘As you wish,’ she replies wryly. Oh, she’s a deadly one.

He follows her through the learning center, narrowly avoids bumping into a group of children running around madly. Only when they enter the staff only area does he speak. ‘I’ll be honest,’ he says, tugging nervously at his tie, ‘I’m not sure how a job interview at Jurassic World goes.’

‘You’ve already been selected for the position,’ Ms. Dearing tells him loftily. He struggles to keep up with her as they move through a series of corridors, tamping his nervousness down. Even with her heels, she’s much faster than he is. Reggie’s appreciation of women everywhere kicks up a notch.

‘So…why am I here?’

Ms Dearing spares him a glance. ‘The position is very prestigious, Mr Faulkes. You’ll be head keeper of the Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. I want to be certain I’ve made the right choice.’

Reggie doesn’t like the taste of it in his mouth. ‘Ma’am, I don’t want the recognition. I only care about making sure the animals are happy.’

Ms Dearing opens a door and sunlight hits him full in the face, blinding him for a second. ‘I know,’ she says, gesturing to a nearby SUV. He gets in, shoulders hunched, and stops asking questions.

Within a few minutes, they’re at their destination. The building’s huge, seems to stretch for miles in both directions. The space inside is vast, and there’s trampled hay all over the ground. His eyes dart around wildly, cataloguing every detail. Claire Dearing takes him up a set of stairs and into daylight again.

They’re standing on a balcony overlooking a vast plain. Apatosaurus mill about leisurely, picking at the trees and calling to each other in high, keening wails. They aren’t distressed, though – Reggie imagines those calls are a way of keeping tabs on each other and the herd at large. The thought makes him smile.

‘I need a keeper that respects these creatures,’ Ms Dearing says, watching him carefully. ‘Someone that cares about the animals and not about the recognition. Are you that person?’

Reggie doesn’t answer. He’s completely captivated by the herd.

The biggest Apatosaurus is the closest to him. She’s gorgeous, sunlight catching on her skin, patches of brown turning beige under the light. The curve of her neck is so graceful it’s mesmerizing. She’s perfectly in proportion, with her tall, sloping shoulders and long tail. Even her head suits the size of her body. The others look to her as she moves, and he knows she’s the matriarch.

Reggie can feel the stupid grin on his face. He’s such a goner.

Luckily, he doesn’t mind. He watches as she turns her head toward him, swallowing her food whole. Her eyes are a pale green, and he gives her a little wave.

Reggie opens his senses to her as she ambles up to him. She skitters around the edges of his mind, and he can’t get a proper grasp on her. To establish a proper connection, he has to touch her. Fortunately for him, she is curious enough to come closer.

Her long whiptail whistles as she walks. The muscles in her shoulders flex with her weight, but her legs come down sure and steady. She’s huge, neck wobbling with her steps as she pulls to a halt in front of him.

Reggie meets her half way, watching as her nostrils twitch, filled with his scent. Her head is taller than his torso and he smiles as she assesses him. ‘Hello there,’ he greets.

She startles a little at the sound of his voice, but her curiosity doubles. She can feel him on the edges of the herd, just as surely as he can feel her, and she wants to know more.

Reggie stretches his hand out, rests it on the thick skin of her nose.

The herd bond opens for him. They part for him like he is Moses and they are the Red Sea. Through the matriarch’s mind, the herd feels him. They are all interconnected, a tightly woven tapestry of individuals. In comparison to their body size, each consciousness is fairly small. They aren’t as intelligent as an elephant, not quite as large. It’s a relief.

The matriarch’s mind is the trunk keeping the tree of the herd together. She is the wisest and the biggest of them all, but also the smartest. She’s every bit as magnificent as the elephant matriarch had been. She’s not as cunning, but she doesn’t need to be. She is magnetic north – and they follow, swept up in her brilliance.

Reggie pulls himself away from the bond. The herd stays within his awareness but they don’t occupy his every thought. They are like the drain of the sink, trying to suck him under, but they don’t have the strength the elephants had, and he’s practiced since then. The temptation is easy to ignore.

The matriarch is the easiest to connect to – her emotions float on the surface, unhindered. He murmurs nonsense to her, running his hands over her beautiful head. She keens contentedly, enjoying the attention.

He laughs, glances over to Ms Dearing. ‘She seems like a Becky, don’t you think?’ he asks. He can’t keep the smile off his face.

Ms Dearing’s smile is genuine. ‘It’s a fine name,’ she replies. ‘You start tomorrow.’

 

 

 

The Walkway Among Giants has been open for a month and nothing’s gone wrong. It’s refreshing, actually.

He spends most of his days with the VIP groups they bring here. Reggie talks about his girls, his herd, and they listen. He tells them not to tease the Apatosaurus; to keep loud noises to a minimum; to be respectful; and they listen.

They are quiet, and they are kind. They ask Reggie questions about the herd, about the matriarch, about his job. He tells them about Becky, about the new calves, and about how much he loves his job. Talking about the herd is fantastic.

The Apatosaurus come and go, meandering around the platforms and watching the VIPS. Members of the herd come to see him and leave again. But there’s one who always remains.

Becky spends her days keeping pace with him. She follows him down the platforms and to the feeding stations. She takes branches from his hands and demands his attention. She can’t feel the strokes against her nose, but she can feel the warmth of his hand. The VIPs smile at her and offer her more branches.

When everyone’s gone, he talks to her. Becky doesn’t understand what he’s saying but she responds to the emotions behind his words. She rumbles and keens playfully at him, nibbles on his clothing. At the end of the day, she stays for him. He leans against her giant head and laughs, happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Reggie's talent works a little differently from the rest. Gotta shake it up a little bit. Writing this was a real pleasure - Reggie is such a nice guy.
> 
> Was going to post this tomorrow, but I am wearing the most comfy jumper in existence and just ate a goddamn delicious burger. I'm in a generous mood ;)


End file.
